Via
by Jaenelle Angelline
Summary: Olivia acquires a roommate with a genetic secret that will change her life forever. Many more chapters to come. Read, review please! Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Via

Rating: Parental guidance suggested; adult situations, violence

Characters: The cast of SVU, other

Disclaimer: I don't own, so you don't sue. I don't have anything you'd want anyway.

Notes: I have read endless stories where Olivia acquires a man in her life. I don't think she needs a man, she's strong enough without one. What she does need, though, is someone who can pull her out of herself and remind her that work isn't the be-all and end-all of life. Who better than a little sister? Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

**Chapter 1: Drunk**

"But Mom, I don't wanna go to Aunt Mary's! I wanna go to Sarah's party tonight instead!" the little girl's complaining voice sounded petulant as she and her mother walked through the parking garage to the car.

"Now then, Suzie, you know how your father and I feel. We've been through this already. Sarah is much older than you, and I haven't met her parents yet. So you're going to Aunt Mary's." the woman stopped beside a green Camry and slipped a key in the lock. Her daughter got in the other side and they drove away, protesting the entire way. The mother's attention was partly on her complaining daughter, so it was the little girl's scream that alerted her mother to the road ahead. There was a flash of blue, the barest glimpse of a running woman, and then a thump as the front of the car struck the figure. "Oh my God," the woman said, clinging to the wheel as she put the car in park. "Suzie, are you all right?" The little girl in the front seat beside her nodded, and the woman hastily unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out. "Miss? Are you all right?" she called as she approached the front of the car. When she didn't receive an answer, she stepped around the front of the car.

"Suzie," she said, her voice shaking, "Get the cell phone from my purse and call 911. Hurry!" The little girl did as she was told.

St. Vincent's emergency room wasn't really busy, Olivia Benson thought as she and Elliot Stabler hurried down the hall to the nurses' station. They flashed their badges at the nurse, and Elliot said, "Detectives Stabler and Benson, SVU. We're here for—"

"Detectives?" came a worried voice from behind them, and they turned to see a harried-looking doctor behind them. "I'm Dr. Harry Arden. She's in 413, this way." He led them away from the nurses' station. "Her name, according to the information we found in her purse, is Jessica Ross. She's 32.When the bus brought her in she was so smashed she couldn't even answer questions. She apparently wandered out into the street in an alcoholic daze and was hit by a passing car."

"So?" Elliot shrugged. "A drunk woman walks out into the street in front of a car and gets hit. I don't see why you called us."

"She has some injuries inconsistent with a car accident, and her knuckles were bruised and bleeding. They looked like defensive wounds to me, so I asked her about them…she couldn't even answer me. I thought perhaps she had been assaulted, and I called you."

"Was there any attempt to contact any family she might have?" Olivia frowned. It didn't sound like a case for them, but you never could tell…

"There was a cell phone in her purse that had her home number in it, and we called that. The woman who answered said she'd be down shortly."

Elliot nodded and pushed the door to room 413 open, walking in. Olivia followed him, and approached the other side of the bed. Elliot spoke first. "Hey. We heard you had a fight with a car and lost."

The woman looked up at them, and Olivia winced when she saw the bruise around the left eye, and the swelling on the jaw line. Other than those, she might have been pretty, once; she had honey blond hair and blue eyes, and a slim figure. "Yeah," she replied, in a voice that was barely audible. "Stupid bitch driving the car didn't even watch where she was going."

"From what the ambulance driver said, the report from the accident scene said you were the one who stepped out into the road," Dr. Arden said.

The woman shrugged. "Drivers're supposed to watch out for pedestrians," she grumped, irritably starting to bite a nail. "Wasn't my fault."

"Well, some of those bruises don't look like you got them in an accident," Olivia said, studying the dark bruises. "That black eye, for instance. Can you tell us how you got that?"

"Don't gotta tell you nothing," the woman grumbled. "Stop nosing around in something that's none of your business and leave me alone."

"Ma'am, we're from the Special Victims Unit," Olivia said, her patience starting to wear thin. Didn't this woman understand that they were there to help? "It's our job to investigate cases of suspected abuse or rape."

"Rape? I wasn't raped. Who said I was raped?" she sat upright, looking indignant, then lay back down, groaning. "Damn hangover."

The door behind them opened, and the two detectives turned, to see a nurse coming in with a young girl. "Dr. Arden? This is Miss Ross's next of kin," the nurse said dubiously. Elliot and Olivia exchanged quick glances as the girl nodded briefly to them and went straight to the chair beside the bed, which Elliot stood quickly to vacate as both he and Olivia looked over the new arrival. She was young, maybe about fourteen, Olivia guessed from her height, with long red-brown hair pulled back in a tight, neat braid.

"Hi, Mom," the girl said quietly. "I got the call at home. They said you'd been hit by a car and you were here. I came as soon as I could."

The woman didn't look happy to see the girl. If anything, she looked even more annoyed. "I don't see why you came. Not like you're going to be any use here at all."

"I came because I was worried," the girl said quietly, gently, even though Olivia could see that the woman's words had hurt her. "When you didn't come home from Leo's last night I got worried. What happened?"

"I stayed a little later for the party. You wouldn't have gotten worried if you'd come along like I told you to. Leo could use another employee."

"I don't want to work for Leo, Mom," the girl said firmly, resignedly. It sounded like she'd said this many times before. "I'm happy with my job at the grocery and the convenience store."

The woman also sounded like she'd said this more than once. "But you'd be making more money, and you wouldn't have to work as hard."

"My job is fine, Mom," the girl said with a sigh, then turned to the detectives and Dr. Arden. "Is my mother all right?" Olivia saw that she'd guessed the girl's age incorrectly; whatever she might look like, she was definitely older than that. There was maturity in the wide brown eyes she turned to the detectives.

"Your Mom's going to be all right. She got grazed by a car. The doctor says they want to keep her overnight for observation, but she can go home in the morning. I'm Detective Benson, this is Detective Stabler. What's your name, sweetheart?" Olivia liked the girl instantly.

"Livy Ross. She's my daughter," said the woman from the bed.

"I prefer Via," the girl said shyly. "It's Sylvia, but I prefer Via. Mom's the only one who calls me Livy."

_My mom did that too,_ Olivia thought, but she didn't voice the thought aloud. Instead, she asked, "How old are you?"

"Sixteen." The girl raised her chin defiantly. "I'm old enough to be alone. I know I look younger than I am, but I'm old enough. So I won't need to go to a home overnight, thank you."

"Is there anyone who can stay with you? Sixteen is still very young, Via."

"I'll be just fine, thank you," Via said stubbornly. "Besides, I have to work tonight anyway, so I won't be alone."

"Where do you work?" Out the corner of her eye, Olivia saw Elliot whipping out his notepad and taking notes.

"I work afternoons at Carlos's Grocery on Amsterdam and 107th, and at night at the convenience mart on West 18th," Via said.

"And your Mom works at Leo's?" Elliot asked as he scribbled the addresses and names down. "Where is that?"

"Why do you want to know?" Jessica asked from the bed before Via could answer. "You vice, gonna bust in and get me out of a job?"

Elliot turned to her without missing a beat and said, "Is there anything in there that will require Vice to bust you guys for illegal activity?"

There was a moment's pause, and then Jessica Ross said "no", in a not-very-convincing tone of voice. Olivia saw the tension in Elliot's shoulders and knew they'd be paying a visit to Leo's, wherever that was, very soon. In the meantime, however…

"Who drove you here, Via?"

The girl shook her head. "No one."

"How'd you get here?"

"I walked." Olivia looked startled, and the girl said quickly, "We don't live that far away. And I'm used to walking." She stood. "If there's nothing else you need, Mom, I'll be heading out. Mr. Kinsley said Harry called out tonight, and if I wanted to work a little extra he'd pay me for the time. We might be able to make all of the rent this month."

"West 18th's kind of a long walk from here, Via," Olivia said guardedly. "Don't you have anyone who can give you a ride? We could put you in a car…"

"Oh, no, don't trouble yourself," the girl nodded briefly at them as she stood up. "I'll be fine. When will my Mom be able to come home?" she asked Dr. Arden.

"Tomorrow morning, around nine," he said.

"I'll be here," Sylvia said.

After she'd left, Elliot turned to Jessica again. "All right, Miss Ross," he said. "You spent the night at Leo's? How'd you get those bruises?"

"Look," Jessica said, hostility in her voice and face, "Leo's my boyfriend, owns a little bar and nightclub. I work there nights as a bartender and working girl. There was an after-hours party there last night, and some of the guests got a little rowdy. I had to knock some sense into a few stupid men's heads. I had a little too much to drink, and Leo let me stay at his place for the night. I wasn't raped, wasn't assaulted, so you can just go bother someone else." She looked at the doctor. "Any chance of getting something to eat here? I'm hungry."

It was a clear dismissal, and Elliot was quick to leave. Olivia lingered for a moment, looking at the woman in the bed as a nurse brought a meal tray, and finally turned and left, closing the room door after her.

"So we got any idea where exactly this 'Leo's' is that Jessica was working at?"

Elliot shook his head as he looked up from the paperwork spread out on his desk. "Liv, why are you bothering? It's not a rape case, and no one wanted to file charges."

"But Elliot, look at the facts. She was at this 'Leo's' all night, leaving her sixteen-year-old daughter at home. Alone. All night. Doesn't that sound a little odd to you? And she was drinking; she complained of a hangover. Via's only sixteen…she's working two jobs to make the rent…so where's her mother's money going?"

"Groceries. Bills. I don't know." Elliot shook his head.

George Huang looked up from where he was filling out a report for one of their open cases. "Liv, can I ask you a question?" he asked. "This about Jessica, or Via?"

"It's Jessica—" Olivia started, and at Huang's look, she sighed. "All right, it's Via. A sixteen-year-old girl shouldn't be left alone so much…and she shouldn't have to work two jobs to make the rent. What's her mother doing?" She pushed aside her paperwork and stood up. "I'll be back. Tell the Cap I'm checking on something."

"Hold on, Liv," Elliot sighed and pushed back his chair. "I'll go with you."

"It's not officially a case, Elliot," Olivia started, but Elliot cut her off.

"I know you well enough to know you're not going to leave this alone until you're satisfied. And I've learned to trust your instincts. Let's go."

Leo's turned out to be a small, seedy-looking nightclub and bar on the Upper East Side. Beside the bar was a shop that sold all kinds of 'adult' material, and on the other side was a vacant shopfront with a 'No Trespassing' sign on its boarded-up window.

They walked in, and realized the place looked deceptively small from the outside. Leo's extended behind the windows of that vacant shopfront next door; with the windows boarded up, the interior was dim. The only source of light was the recessed lighting in the ceiling, and even that was muted.

At this time of day, there were no patrons. The only people the two detectives could see was the bartenders wiping down tables and cleaning up after the previous night, which, from the amount of trash on the floor, seemed to have been quite a party. There was a small dance floor on one side of the front of the room, a small platform for the DJ and his equipment, now silent; but the focus of the room was the large stage at one end of the bar. Curious, thinking there might be offices behind the stage, they stepped up onto it.

"Excuse me, we're closed," said a voice, and suddenly the stage was flooded with bright white light. They turned to find out where it was coming from, shielding their eyes against the glare. There was a man behind the bright floodlights, but they couldn't quite see his face.

Olivia took out her badge, showed it to the man. "My name is Detective Benson, this is Detective Stabler," she said. "We're looking for a guy named Leo."

"Whatcha want him for?" the man squinted at their badges in the dim light. "You Vice? We run a clean establishment here, everyone's consenting adults. We have signed statements—"

"Thank you, Eric, that will do," said a new voice, and the two detectives turned, to see a man coming out of an office beside the front door, which they hadn't noticed when they walked in. "I'll take over from here. I'm Leo James. What can I help you with, Detectives?"

"We're investigating an accident involving a woman named Jessica Ross," Elliot said politely, his eyes busy roving over every inch of the other man. Leo was a tall, muscular man who looked like he worked out on a regular basis; he was totally ripped, though he didn't have the bulky muscles of a professional bodybuilder. The leather pants he wore fit like a second skin over his thighs, and the black t-shirt he wore strained to cover his bulging pectorals.

"Yeah? Jessica's one of my best girls. What's happened to her?"

Olivia didn't answer the question right away, opting instead to start asking her own. "When did you see her last, Mr. James?"

"This morning. She was here all last night, Detectives. We were having a party for some of our members, and Jessica helped out. She went home this morning. I offered to drive her home because she…overindulged…last night, but she insisted on walking. Is she okay?" his concern was obvious.

"She wandered out into the street and was hit by a passing car," Elliot said carefully.

"Oh my." Leo looked distressed. "Is she all right?"

"The hospital wants to keep her under observation tonight, but she'll be released tomorrow."

"Oh. That's good news." He looked up at them. "Is Livy all right?"

"Livy?" Olivia pretended ignorance. "Who's Livy?" She hoped Elliot wouldn't say anything…and he didn't.

"Jessica's daughter. Sylvia's sixteen. She's not old enough to be on her own. I've told Jessica to bring her here; I can use her help, but Jessica says Livy's stubborn."

"You can't hire a sixteen-year-old to work in an establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, Mr. James," Elliot said sharply.

"Oh, I know that," James said with a nervous chuckle. "No, I'd get her to help me in the back. Jessica says the girl's good with figures; I figured she could help me keep the books. She'd have no access to the alcohol, or the customers."

Well, that didn't break any rules. Still, the idea of a sixteen-year-old working here got to Olivia, and she didn't wonder that Via didn't want to work here. "Jessica told us some of the customers last night got rowdy. She has bruises on her face and hands. How'd she get those, Mr. James?"

"I took care of the guys. Just a couple of customers who got too rowdy and touchy-feely with the girls. They got a little rough, I tossed 'em out, no harm done."

"What are those for?" Elliot said suddenly, and Olivia looked, to where he was pointing to a couple of eyebolts set into the stage floor.

"Oh." Leo looked nervous now. "I have girls dance here to entertain the customers. We have wet t-shirt contests and stuff like that. Those are attachment points for the props the girls use."

Olivia didn't like how nervous the man was getting. He was trying to cover up for something. "Mind if we have a look around?" she said.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do, Detective. We're going to open in a few hours, and we really need to clean up after last night." He subtly shifted position to block their view of the hallway at the rear of the stage. "If there's nothing else…"

"No, that's all for now, thank you," Elliot said, nudging Olivia carefully in the side with one elbow. She took the hint, and they left.

Outside and in the car, Olivia let out a huge sigh. "Was it just me or did Leo really not want us there?"

"Wasn't just you," Elliot said, starting the car. "I didn't like him either. He didn't want us there. There's something going on. Did you hear that guy mention 'consenting adults' and 'signed statements'?"

"I want to come back here and take a look when they're open. I want to see what kind of stuff goes on in there." Olivia sounded determined.

"Great. Not like I had any plans for tonight," Elliot grumbled as they pulled into traffic.

She looked at him in surprise. "Elliot, you don't have to come."

"Sure I do. I don't like the looks of that place, and my partner needs to know I got her back. I'm not letting you go there alone."

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," Olivia said. "Admit it, Elliot, you think there's something going on and you want to find out what it is."

He flashed her a quick grin.


	2. Club

**Chapter 2: Club**

Notes: Caution, adult scenes in this chapter.

She couldn't help giving Elliot a quick, approving glance when she met him outside the club later that evening. Basic black t-shirt, but he was wearing a pair of leather pants that fit him like a second skin. "Looking good, partner," she teased as she caught up to him on the sidewalk.

"Not too bad yourself," he said, looking her up and down. She'd chosen a tight-fitting red cap-sleeved t-shirt that left a tiny bit of her stomach bare, and a pair of hip-hugging jeans with a gold chain belt. The legs flared out over heels high enough to put her at eye level with him.

They paid the twenty-dollar cover charge, got the back of their hands stamped by the guy at the door, and walked in. The guy who had spoken to them earlier was right beside the door, looking at the newcomers, but he was busy checking out another couple, a man and a younger woman, and didn't notice the two detectives slip by.

"Oh my God," Olivia breathed once they got in and her eyes adjusted to the light. "Elliot…"

"I know, Liv. I see it too. No wonder he didn't want us looking too closely at the place."

The place was full of people. That in itself wasn't strange. What was unusual was the sight of half of those people sitting on the floor next to the other half, wearing collars, chains, and leashes. Elliot stared as a man walked casually up to the bar to order a drink, with a naked girl on a leash behind him. She crawled behind him, stopping when he stopped, moving when he moved.

The walls had been hung with heavy black drapes when they had visited that afternoon. Now those drapes were swept aside, and they saw X-frames lining them, some occupied, some not. Elliot narrowed his eyes as he saw a gagged man writhing under the whip wielded by a woman standing in front of him wearing black leather pants.

"How can Jessica want her daughter to come and work here?" Olivia's eyes were skipping around the room, seeing a naked woman openly fellating a man under a table by the wall while said man was talking casually to another. At a nearby table, a woman was bent over the back of a chair being spanked. It was all very open…but the atmosphere, while sexually charged, was very relaxed. None of the patrons looked like they were here against their will. Most looked like they were enjoying themselves.

"Table for two?" Came a solicitous voice at their elbow, and they turned to see one of the waitresses at their elbow. "You're new here." She raked Olivia with a fast glance, then her eyes slid appreciatively over Elliot. "Oh, honey. Looking good tonight. Want a girl?"

"Thank you, no, I have one," Elliot said, sliding an arm around Olivia's waist. She slipped into the role, giggling and snuggling up to him.

"Oh," the waitress said, looking disappointed. "Well, you know how this goes. You want one of us, just holler." She studied Olivia. "You want one of the rooms in back?"

"Maybe later," Elliot said.

'Well, there aren't any open right now, so it would have to be later. But just say the word, I'll be happy," she licked her lips slowly, seductively, "to oblige."

"Mmm." Elliot smiled at her. "And just what would you be happy to 'oblige' me with?"

"Anything except animals, honey," the woman said. "I do it all. Wax, whips, chains, you name it, I'll do it."

"Is Jessica one of the girls?" Olivia asked suddenly.

The woman looked at her disdainfully. "Juicy Jessy. That little drunk ho. She'll do anything for a drink." She drew away from Elliot. "Didn't peg you as the type to like bestiality, but if you do, you're a little more than I can handle. If you want a girl, ask for Puppy Peggy. She'll do the dogs. In fact, she'll be onstage in a few minutes." She walked away as another patron called for a drink.

"Dogs?" Olivia made a face, saw her own disgust mirrored in Elliot's eyes. "What—" she broke off in mid-sentence as the crowd fell silent and that bright spotlight illuminated the stage.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, give a warm house welcome for Puppy Peggy!"

Leo walked onstage, leading a crawling girl by a collar and chain leash onto the stage. He bent down and clipped the end of the leash to one of the eyebolts in the floor that Elliot had commented on earlier, and snapped his fingers. The girl squatted back on her haunches, stuck out her tongue and panted like a dog.

"Speak!" the command was loud in the quiet room.

The girl barked.

Leo picked up a thin wooden stick, a cane, and stood behind her. "Speak!" she barked…and the cane came slashing down on her bare back. She yelped.

"Up!" The girl rose to all fours and barked again as the cane slashed down on her ass. Olivia swallowed and averted her eyes, scanning the room to see what the reactions were like. Most of the guests were watching avidly, titillated by the sight. Several men were masturbating openly; several women also had their hands down their pants or up their skirts. She turned her attention back to the stage.

The caning was over, apparently, and the girl was alone onstage. Not for long, though, apparently; soon, the audience could hear panting, and moments later, two Great Danes burst onstage, yanking at their leashes. The handler let them off the leashes, and they swarmed the girl eagerly, sniffing and licking, then they…

"Let's go," Elliot took Olivia's arm, and they both headed for the door…only to find their way blocked by the large, bulky, muscular form of Leo James.

"Going somewhere, Detectives?"

"So this is what you were hiding when we stopped by earlier," Olivia burst out.

"Detectives," Leo held up a hand. "If I'd tried to explain, you wouldn't have understood. Law enforcement tends to take a rather dim view of what happens in here, but I assure you, there's nothing illegal here. Just some consenting adults meeting to satisfy their urges with other consenting adults."

"Can you prove it's all consensual?" Elliot demanded.

Leo nodded. "All members who want to participate and play here have to sign a consent form at the door. It's a standard one, all it says is that they agree that nothing here is offensive and they're here of their own accord. My girls have signed the agreements too. I can let you look if you're interested."

"Yeah. Yeah, we would." Elliot and Olivia followed Leo around the perimeter of the room, down a short hallway at the back of the bar, and into a small, slightly cluttered office. "Right here," he said. "I have signed consent forms from all of my girls, stating that they're willing to submit to whatever the clients want. Each form lists activities the girl is willing to perform. I never allow a client to violate the agreement. Clients with preferences other than what a girl has listed are referred to a different girl, or they're free to mingle with the other clients and try to find a partner among them."

"Is Jessica Ross one of these girls? Do you have a consent form for her?"

Leo went to a nearby file cabinet, rummaged for a moment. "Yes I do. Here it is." He was silent as both Elliot and Olivia looked it over, and finally said, "If you're satisfied, detectives, I do have a club to run…"

"We're going. Thanks," Olivia said as she handed the paper back.

She got to the hospital at nine the next morning, just in time to see Jessica and Via cross the hospital lawn and sit down at the bus stop by the curb in front of the building. "Via!" she called, hurrying up to the girl.

"Hello, Detective," the girl said as Olivia caught up with her. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, I just wanted to talk to you. Did you get to work last night okay?"

"Yes I did."

"Were you all right at home all night?"

The girl stopped. "I worked all night, Detective," she said. "My boss said he would pay me the overtime because one of the other cashiers called out. I picked up my paycheck and now we're going to go home. I'll drop Mom off and go pay the landlord."

"Is it just the two of you? What about your dad?"

"I don't have a dad. It's just mom and me."

"Do you know what Leo's is?"

Jessica broke in. "Yeah, she's been there with me a few times. Why are you asking all these questions, Detective?"

"My partner and I checked out Leo's bar last night, and we didn't like what we saw. Everyone there might be consenting adults, but Via's only sixteen. She's not old enough to consent, and not old enough to work there. If we see Sylvia working there, Child Protective services will say you're endangering her, and they'll take you away from her. Don't take her there, Jessica."

Jessica drew herself up indignantly. "The nerve of you, telling me what I can and can't do with my own child! I'll do whatever I want, Detective—"

"Not if you don't want to go to jail, Ms. Ross," Olivia said firmly. "Here's my card, there's my number. If you need anything, please, call me." Her smile was more for Via than for Jessica.

"Yeah. Right." Jessica tossed the card aside, sneering. "Come on, Livy." The bus was pulling up, and she turned to face it as the door opened.

Via stooped wordlessly and picked up the little card from where it lay on the ground. "Thank you, Miss Benson," she whispered before she turned and followed her mother onto the bus. The card disappeared into the pocket of her jeans.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Sylvia Ross? Yeah, she works here. Good worker."

Carlos's Grocery was a Latino grocery store catering to a mostly Latino clientele; Olivia had worried when she saw the store's manager, a swarthy-featured Hispanic man named Luis, but to her immense relief the man spoke good English with only a hint of an accent. "I don't like to hire teenagers, usually, but when she came to ask if there was a job available, she begged so hard I gave her a job for two weeks on a trial basis, and then kept her on afterward. She's spotty on the attendance, misses a day or so every so often, but she's polite and neat and pleasant, and she works hard to make up for the days she misses."

"What's her work schedule like?" Olivia said.

He took her into a small, narrow, cramped office toward the back of the store and showed her the employee bulletin board. "She works four afternoons a week, five hours a day. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. She splits her time between stocking the shelves and working the register."

"Have you ever had any problems with her, personally?"

"No. Never. She's unfailingly polite, even to the rude people."

"Does she ever have any problems with your other employees?"

"No." He hesitated, then corrected himself. "Once. I had a boy working here. Eric. He was her age, maybe a year older. They struck up a friendship, took their breaks together…he liked her, and she liked him. I gave her one afternoon off with pay so she could go catch a movie with him; poor girl worked so hard and never got to have much fun. He offered to walk her home one evening when she finished up late, and got back about an hour later, looking shocked. I asked him what was wrong, but all he told me was that he'd met Via's mother. Sylvia didn't show up for work the next day, and when I next saw her, she seemed very depressed. She and Eric continued to be friends, but I sensed distance between them, and then a week afterwards Eric stopped working here. Neither one ever said what happened."

"I'd like to ask him. Do you have his address?"

"Just a minute. It should be in my employee files." Luis turned and rummaged through a file cabinet drawer.

She'd been in the neighborhood on another case, a follow-up, and decided to stop in quickly and ask Sylvia's manager about the girl. She hadn't seen or heard from the girl in the month since that last meeting at the bus stop outside the hospital, but she couldn't stop thinking about her. Now, with this interesting new piece of information, she decided to track down the boy and ask him about Sylvia.

"Here it is. He lives in an apartment in the Bronx." Olivia scribbled the address down in her notepad. "What's wrong with Sylvia? She in trouble or something?"

"No, just doing a follow-up," Olivia said. "I met her when her mom was in the hospital. I'm trying to find out more about her." She fished a card out of her pocket. "Please feel free to give me a call if something happens to her."

Eric lived in an apartment in the Hispanic section of the city, not too far from the grocery. When Olivia knocked, an older woman opened the door, saw Olivia's badge, and started speaking rapidly in Spanish. "No, I'm not here to arrest you," Olivia managed when the woman paused for breath. "I'm here to see Eric." This set off another spate of frantic Spanish, which stopped abruptly as a young boy appeared in the doorway separating the front room from the kitchen.

"Mama." He silenced his mother with a word, then turned to Olivia. "Hello," he said, pleasantly, if guardedly. "I'm Eric. What's wrong?"

"I'm Detective Olivia Benson, Special Victims Unit," Olivia said, showing him her badge. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to ask you about a coworker you used to work with, at Carlos's Grocery? Her name is Sylvia."

"Oh, Sylvia." He turned to his mother and spoke to her. Olivia wasn't sure what he'd said, but she heard the name 'Sylvia" in there, and the woman relaxed visibly. Moments later, she disappeared into the kitchen, and Eric opened the door. "Please, come in."

"Thank you." Olivia stepped in and went to one of the easy chairs by the TV as Eric sat on the couch facing her. "I talked to Luis. He said you and Sylvia were getting a little close there, and then suddenly broke it off after you met Via's mother. What happened?"

Eric frowned. "I can't tell you, Detective Benson," he said, politely but firmly.

"Why?" He was silent. "Look, Eric, if her mother did something to you, you need to tell me so I can help…"

"No, no, no, it wasn't like that, Detective. Sylvia's mother didn't do anything to me. I just…didn't like the way she treated Sylvia."

"What do you mean?"

He looked wary. "Sylvia told me not to tell anyone."

"Eric, if she hurt you or Sylvia, I need to know about it so I can keep it from happening again." Olivia used her most persuasive tone of voice. "Please, Eric. For Sylvia's sake."

He sighed and looked down at his hands. "Sylvia and I met at work. At first we were just friends, but she seemed so lonely and in need of a friend, I started a conversation with her, and I think she liked me. We took breaks and stuff together, and I took her to the movies once. Just harmless stuff, you understand? Then one night I offered to walk her home…they don't live too far away…and when we got there, Sylvia's mom was waiting." He shuddered, his eyes getting a faraway look. "She saw me, and she was furious. She grabbed my arm and Sylvia's and dragged us both into the apartment, then she slapped Sylvia and yelled at her for bringing a Hispanic boy home. Sylvia started to protest, told her mother that I'd only walked her home, but her mother ignored her and started going on about how Sylvia was a whore for bringing home boys and if she was going to do it, she should do it for money and earn her money that way. Sylvia got upset, and told her mother she wasn't a whore. Her mother slapped her again, then started kicking and punching her, until Sylvia just lay in the corner, crying. Her mother turned to me and told me to get out and leave Sylvia alone."

Olivia felt her heart twist in her chest. Jessica was beating her daughter…Sylvia hadn't acted afraid of her mother, but you never knew… "So you decided to leave her alone?"

"I didn't want Sylvia to get beaten again." Eric looked up at Olivia. "I really liked her, and I didn't want to see her get hurt. So I left her alone and found another job where her mother wouldn't see me with Sylvia again." He sighed. "Please don't tell anyone I told you."

"Eric, I want to arrest Jessica Ross for abusing her daughter. If I do, you'll have to testify in court to what you saw Jessica doing to Sylvia."

"No!" Eric shook his head. "Sylvia said she wanted me to leave it alone! I offered to report her but Sylvia said no, her mother didn't mean it and it wouldn't happen again. She didn't want me to tell anybody. Please don't tell anyone."

Olivia left feeling distinctly unhappy. Sylvia was being abused, and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't arrest Jessica until she had some evidence of abuse, and right now, without Eric's testimony, she didn't have any evidence. She had to find some.

She passed Carlos's Grocery on the way out of the neighborhood from Eric's house, and was sitting at a stoplight two blocks away when she saw a slim figure in the headlights of her car. It was winter, and winter came early to New York; a light snow was already falling, though the weatherman hadn't forecasted any accumulation. Olivia doubted that, as she squinted through the windshield to see if the pedestrian in the crosswalk had gone by.

She was surprised to see Sylvia.

The girl was hunched into herself, shivering a little; the thin coat she wore didn't keep out enough of the sharp, biting wind to make her comfortable. And she carried a backpack on her back that looked far too heavy for her thin frame. Olivia pulled up next to the curb and rolled down her window. "Sylvia? Via?"

The girl turned, and Olivia was struck dumb by the look of absolute misery on the girl's face. As soon as she saw who it was, she scrubbed the tears from her cheeks and tried to brighten up as she approached Olivia's car. "Yes, Miss Benson?"

"Via, what are you doing here? It's almost five, and it's snowing. Shouldn't you be home right now?"

"I'm all right, Miss Benson. I came to pick up my paycheck. Mom said she was having… company… tonight, and she didn't want me around. She told me to spend the night over at a friend's house."

"Where are you going? I'll drop you off there."

"Oh, no, Miss Benson, I don't want to bother you. I'll be all right. St. Mark's is right around the corner, I'll get something to eat there."

Oh, God. Olivia could well imagine what sort of 'company' Jessica was having that she didn't want her daughter around…and having to eat at a homeless shelter's kitchen because you couldn't go home seemed wrong. "Don't you have a friend you can stay with for the night?" St. Mark's had a homeless shelter, but as soon as the snow started falling the homeless would have crowded in. There wouldn't be a spare bed available right now for Via.

Sylvia shuffled in place, whether from nervousness or cold Olivia couldn't tell. "I work two jobs and my mother drinks, Miss Benson," she said quietly but with a hint of sharpness in her voice. "None of the kids at school want to be friends."

Olivia winced at the memory of her own childhood, when her mother drank and Olivia herself had to manage on her own. Via wasn't so different from herself. "Come on," she said, reaching across the car and unlocking the front passenger seat door. "Get in, Via. You can spend the night at my place."

"Oh, no!" Sylvia sounded panicked. "No, Miss Benson, I'll get along fine, I'll be all right."

"Sylvia. Get in the car." Olivia wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, and apparently Via realized it, because after a moment she opened the door and climbed in. As she fastened her seatbelt, Olivia turned the heat up in the car. "Put your hands over the vent, there, it'll warm your hands." Via hesitated for a moment, but when Olivia repeated the comment, she stretched her hands out to the vent and held her hands close to the barred opening.

"Rub your hands together, that will warm them up faster," Olivia said as she started driving again.

"Thank you, Miss Benson—" Via started.

"Olivia," Olivia interrupted. "Call me Olivia."

"Thank you, Miss Olivia," Sylvia ventured timidly after they'd sat in silence for several minutes. "Really, you didn't have to. I'd be all right; I always manage to find a place."

"This has happened before?" Olivia kept her tone quiet as she glanced at the girl sitting in the seat beside her.

"Well…when Mom has company, she doesn't want me around. And really, I don't want to be around either. So it's better that I find somewhere else to be. Mr. Kinsley over at the Seven Eleven usually lets me work overnight whenever Mom has company and pays me under the table for the overtime. It's not as much as I'd get if I were on the schedule, but at least I have a place to stay and somewhere warm."

"If you needed a place to stay why didn't you call me?"

Sylvia's eyes opened very wide. "I can't bother you for something little like that! It would be… rude."

"No, it wouldn't," Olivia was firm. "Anything you need, Sylvia, anything you need help with, I told you to call me. Finding yourself out in the cold on a night like this is definitely in my definition of 'needing help'."

She parked the car in the West 82nd parking garage, then turned it off and reached for Sylvia's hands. "Are your hands warm enough yet?" She took one of Sylvia's hands in her own, squeezing gently to get a feel for how cold or warm they were.

Via squeaked involuntarily and jerked her hands from Olivia's, but not before Olivia realized that they felt somehow wrong. "No, don't do that. Via, what's wrong with your hands?" she switched on the overhead light and seized the girl's wrists before Via could pull them back again.

Her palms were marked by large circular burns, perfectly spiraled. They were the exact size of the spiral heating element on an electric range top, and covered the girl's entire palm from heel to fingertip. "Sylvia!"

The girl tried to pull her hands back, but Olivia refused to let them go. "I burned myself on the stove," she said quietly, not meeting Olivia's eyes. "I'd just turned the stove off, and reached for something over the stove and lost my footing on the little stepstool I use to reach the high shelves. I grabbed for something to keep my balance, and touched the stove."

"No. Don't lie to me, Sylvia. This wasn't an accident, this was done on purpose. It's perfectly centered; someone forced your hand down on the hot range top and held it there long enough to burn. Who was it, Via? Was it your mother?"

"It was an accident," Via said stubbornly as she got out of the car and tucked her hands protectively under her arms. Olivia said nothing, just led the girl out of the garage to the front door of the apartment building, let herself in with her key, and ushered the girl up the stairs to her apartment. She switched the light on and took off her coat, then helped Via out of hers and draped them both over the back of the nearby couch. "Sit down there while I get a few things," she directed, and Via sat on the couch.

Olivia raided the medicine cabinet for what she needed. She was no stranger to injuries; working as a cop made one rather accident prone, fighting with perps as well as the usual assortment of cuts and scrapes garnered in chases and fights with people who didn't like cops. They were supposed to go to the doctor for any injuries that happened on the job, but Olivia hated the paperwork and the fuss. Most of the time she just went home and tended to the cuts and scrapes herself, so she had a ready supply handy.

Returning to the living room with a can of anesthetic spray, bandages, and ointment, she sat beside Sylvia and turned on the lamp beside the couch so she could see clearly. Up close, it looked even worse; the red curved lines were marked by burn blisters along the edges. It wasn't serious enough to need to go to the hospital, but it had to hurt. "This is going to hurt a little, Sylvia, but it'll feel better afterwards." The girl nodded, gritting her teeth. Not a sound escaped her lips as Olivia carefully rubbed burn cream into the blistered palm, then covered it with a coating of anesthetic spray. In moments, the numbing properties of the salve started working, and Sylvia relaxed visibly.

Olivia finished it all with a dressing of clean white gauze, wrapped around the hands and secured with a band of white medical tape around the knuckles. She was going to wrap the gauze down to the wrists and secure it with tape there, but as she tugged Sylvia's sleeve up her arm, she saw four parallel bruises there on the girl's wrists, and the mark of a thumb. She didn't say anything about them until she'd finished bandaging the girl's hands, then she sat back, trying to figure out what to say.

"It was an accident," Sylvia said tentatively.

"No, it wasn't." Olivia looked straight at the girl, who immediately dropped her eyes. "Sylvia, don't lie to me, and I won't lie to you. I've worked with enough victims to know when something is an accident and when it isn't. Who are you protecting? Is it your mother?" When she didn't get an answer, she went on. "Let me tell you what I think happened. You angered someone, probably your mother, while she was cooking. She grabbed your wrists and dragged you to the stove and held your hands down on top of the front burner of the oven; from the marks on your wrists, you tried to get away but she pinned you to the stove, probably by trapping you between her body and the stove. Then she shoved you away and told you to get out of her sight. So you did. You grabbed your coat and ran."

Silence.

"I talked to Eric Llauger," Olivia continued in a softer tone of voice. "He told me about the time he walked you home. He said your mother called you a whore for walking home with a boy…and then she beat you, and threatened to do worse if Eric told anyone. He couldn't handle it, he broke up with you and found another job somewhere else." More silence. "Via, if your mother's hurting you, then she needs help. You have to tell someone so she can get help, because you don't need to live this way."

"She doesn't mean to," Sylvia said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's just…she drinks, and when she gets drunk she doesn't know what she's doing. She says and does things that hurt…but she loves me, it's just the drinking that makes her do those things. She tells me often when she's not drunk that she does love me, and she does care, and I'm all she has and we have to stick together."

Olivia winced inwardly. It was the same thing her own mother had told her…how many times? She'd lost count. She'd repeated it to herself many times as she lay in bed at night, listening to her mother's wild drunken singing. "Your mother still needs help, Via," she said. "She needs to get away from Leo and get herself some help to stop the drinking."

"I know. I tried to get Mom to go to the AA meeting to stop drinking, but she refuses and I can't make her." Sylvia turned big eyes up to Olivia. "Please don't tell anyone."

Olivia sighed. "Sylvia, it's my job to help people like you, children who are being abused and need help," she said. "Your mother's hurting you; that's abuse. Even if she does love you, she needs help."

"I know. But I don't think she's ready to get help." Sylvia sighed.

"You'll have to make that decision, Sylvia," Olivia said. "When you're ready for things to change, call me. Now, let's get something to eat, okay?"

Sylvia's eyes lit up. "Okay. I'm hungry!"

Olivia didn't bring the subject up again the rest of the night; neither did Sylvia. Instead they spent a pleasant evening chatting, Sylvia telling Olivia about her school, her jobs, her preferences in music, reading, and countless other things. They finished the evening with a game of Monopoly, and for the first time in a long while, Olivia didn't feel lonely when she went to bed. Sylvia slept on the couch that night, because Olivia's second bedroom was currently stuffed with junk and being used as storage. She had breakfast with Olivia, and Olivia dropped her off at Carlos's the next morning on her way to work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Olivia didn't see Sylvia for a month or so after that; in fact, it was Christmas Eve before she saw the girl again. She was getting out of her car with some last-minute presents she'd picked up from the store after work, trying to balance the pile of boxes and various bags, and the board game she'd bought Elliot's son slid off the top of the pile as she kicked the car door closed. She cursed, trying to balance the pile of boxes against the car door as she stooped to pick up the fallen box.

"Here, let me get that," said a voice, and a hand scooped up the box. Olivia looked up, and saw Sylvia's smiling face as she deftly slid two more boxes and a bag out of Olivia's arms. The load went from barely manageable to easily-handled with her helping to carry the load.

"Via!" She smiled back. "I haven't seen you in a while, how are you doing?'"

"I'm doing good, Miss Olivia," the girl responded. "Need some help?"

"I could use an extra hand, thanks," Olivia said, turning and leading the way out of the parking garage to the front door of her building, where she let herself and Via in with her key. Via followed her up the flights of stairs to her apartment, and put the bags and boxes down on the low coffee table in her living room. "Last-minute Christmas shopping?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye, relieving Olivia of the rest of the load.

"Yeah," Olivia sighed, taking off her coat and dropping it across the back of the couch. "I hate last minute stuff, but we've been so busy I just haven't had the time to do any shopping till now."

"You know a lot of people," Via said as she put the last bag on the floor beside the low table, having run out of room on top of the table.

"Not really…well, I guess so," Olivia corrected herself. "I meet a lot of people while I'm doing my job. I don't get gifts for everyone, though. This stuff is mostly for my partners, and their kids. Fin's got a son, and Elliot has four kids, three girls and a boy. And I got a little something for his wife Kathy too." She took Via's coat, noting with a pang that it was old and worn-looking, and hardly appropriate for the New York December cold. "So how are things at your place? You done with all your Christmas shopping, too?"

Via shook her head as she pulled the elastic band out of her hair and started re-braiding the long strands. "Mom's spending the holidays with Leo and his girls. She didn't want me around any more than I wanted to be around, so…" she shrugged.

"So you're spending Christmas at your apartment alone?" Olivia tried not to sound disapproving.

Via looked down, as if embarrassed, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "We lost the apartment two weeks ago," she said quietly. "Mom's been sleeping over at Leo's, and I have a sleeping bag on the floor in his kitchen, but I don't like being there. I don't like Leo. So I try to be gone as much as possible."

"Wait. You don't have a home anymore?" Olivia's voice was sharp.

"We're renting a room from Leo right now. He gave Mom and me one of his bedrooms, but Mom doesn't want me in the room when he's sleeping with her at night, so I put a sleeping bag on the kitchen floor." She saw Olivia's look. "It's not really a big thing. It is the holidays, and the grocery store and the Seven-Eleven are busy, and they need the extra help. So I've been working a lot. Mom works for Leo, so he takes her rent out of what she makes, but I have to pay rent, too, so I work as much as possible. He wants a lot of money, and my two jobs barely covers it all, but I manage. There's not a lot of money left for presents, so…" she reached into the battered purse she carried, probably something she'd pulled from someone's garbage can, and gave Olivia an oddly-shaped but neatly-wrapped package. "I made this in craft class at school. Luis gave me a bit of leftover wrapping paper and the bow, and I made you a card myself." She pulled a white envelope from her purse. "I tried to make something for everyone I wanted to give gifts to. Luis loved his. Mr. Kinsley didn't care, and Mom said it was trash, but I thought you'd like one too." She looked at Olivia hopefully.

Olivia swallowed hard. Via didn't even have a home, but she'd tried so hard to make something for everyone who meant something to her. She was touched that the girl thought of her at all. "Via, you didn't have to," she whispered, feeling a tightness in her throat. "Thank you. I'll open it tomorrow morning. Would you like to stay the night?" She cursed herself for not getting around to emptying out her second bedroom; she hadn't seen Via in a few weeks, and it had slipped her mind. But she'd be all right on the couch for one night.

Via's eyes lit up. "Can I?" she asked tentatively. "I haven't got anywhere else to go."

"Of course." Olivia put the small gift under the small Christmas tree in the corner, glad she'd put it up. It was a small, four-foot tall artificial tree, just the right size for her apartment, and usually she didn't bother; she lived alone and rarely had company, so there was no one to see and enjoy it but her; but some impulse had made her get it out of its box and put it up two weeks ago. Now she was glad she had. She plugged in the string of lights and watched as it lit up.

Via stood looking at the tree with wistful eyes, smiling at the play of colored lights winking on and off among the green plastic branches. "We've never had a Christmas tree," she said softly. "Yours is beautiful."

Olivia turned away so Via wouldn't see the tears in her eyes and headed for the kitchen. "It's late, and I'm hungry," she called from the kitchen once she was safely inside and could wipe away the tears in her eyes. "Let's eat first, and then I'll wrap the gifts."

"Do you need help?" Via said from the living room, where she was still looking at the tree.

"No, no. Go ahead and relax, I'll be out in a minute." Olivia thought fast. Usually she'd just heat up a prepackaged dinner in the microwave, eat it while watching the eleven o'clock news, and go to bed afterwards. She hadn't expected to have a visitor. Grabbing a couple of jars of spaghetti sauce, she emptied them into a pot, then set another pot on the stove with water to boil for the pasta. Since that would take a while to heat up, she went back out into the living room and started to unpack the gifts she'd bought. Then she went to the hall closet, where she stored the extra wrapping paper and bows, and spread that out on the floor.

Via helped her wrap, handing her tape and scissors as needed. Olivia sighed as she tried to get a corner on the large stuffed animal she'd bought for Lizzie, then gave it up for the moment. "Spaghetti should be about done," she said, sighing as she got up. "Let's take a break. You know, there just isn't a way to neatly wrap something that isn't in a box."

Via studied the wrapping paper, and the teddy bear. "I think I see a way," she said. "May I, Miss Olivia?"

"Liv," Olivia corrected the girl. "Call me Liv. All my friends do."

She could almost hear the smile in Via's voice. "All right. Liv."

When Olivia came out of the kitchen with two steaming plates of spaghetti, Via was just putting a last piece of tape on the corner of the package formed by the bear's ear. Olivia stared, then broke into a smile. "Well. You're better at wrapping than I am. I have no patience with that sort of thing."

Via grinned and took the plate from Olivia. "Luis said the same thing. He got me to wrap all of his gifts."

Olivia groaned as she sat down on the couch and sank into the cushions. "If you want to wrap the rest of those, feel free," she said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes briefly. "I hate wrapping…and it's been a long day too."

"You look tired," Via said gently. "When do you have to work tomorrow?"

Olivia groaned. "Afternoon," she said. "I'll put all these in the trunk and leave them there, and give them to Elliot and Fin and John at the end of shift. I'll be coming in as they're getting off." She raised her head to look at Via. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"No," Via said.

"Well, then what are you and your Mom doing?"

Via's voice dropped. "Mom and Leo and some of Leo's other girls are going to a Christmas 'party'," she whispered. "I'm not going to see much of her the rest of the week; she's going to be really… tired… afterwards. She always is. And then I have to either take care of her or stay out of her way."

"Take care of her? She's going to drink that much?" Olivia was dismayed.

"No, no, not the alcohol. The guy who's having the party is one of Leo's club's richer members. He's having a party for the members of the club, with Leo's girls to…um…entertain. Mom still looks young enough to appeal, but she can handle pain better than the younger girls, so she's always in demand."

Olivia wanted to be sick. "Your mom like doing this, Via?"

Via hesitated. "She says she doesn't, but… she lets Leo do those things to her even when she's not getting paid, so she must like it at least a little bit."

Olivia sat up and leaned forward. "Via…does Leo do those things to you?"

"No," Via said, swallowing hard. "I… he's never hurt me. But I know he thinks about it; he suggested to my mother a month ago that she start bringing me around the club after Thanksgiving so I can be prepared to start working as soon as I'm legal." She looked at Olivia. "Olivia, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes." Olivia answered immediately.

"What's the legal age of consent here? For sexual activity, I mean."

"Seventeen."

Via stared at her, her lips parted slightly. "Seven…teen?"

Olivia nodded.

"Oh, God!" Via burst into tears and hid her face in her hands.

Olivia scrambled off the couch and sat beside Via on the floor. "Via, what? What's wrong?"

Via looked up at her, and the misery in her face tore at Olivia's heart. "I turn seventeen on New Year's Day." Olivia must have looked puzzled, because Via explained. "Mom and Leo said they want me to start working for him as soon as I turn seventeen."

"No!" Olivia was shocked. "Via, let me explain. You can give consent when you're seventeen, but you cannot have sex with someone older than you until you're eighteen. And since Leo's club sells alcohol, you can't start working there until you're twenty-one."

"I can't?" Relief flooded Via's face.

"You can't." Olivia said firmly. "And if they try to make you, call me. Immediately. Run away, if you have to. Get to a pay phone, borrow someone's, whatever you have to do, but call me. I'll protect you. I won't let them make you do anything you don't want to do."

Via's eyes were shining with tears. "Thank you, Olivia."

Olivia wrapped her arms around the girl. "You're welcome, Via."

Via ate the spaghetti eagerly; Olivia decided it had been a while since she'd eaten a home-cooked meal, and urged the girl to have another helping when she was done. Via headed off to the kitchen, and Olivia finished wrapping the presents and put them in large bags, ready to take out to the car the next morning, then picked up her coat and opened her front hall closet.

She was hanging up her coat when a flash of plastic caught her eye. Turning on the hall light, she dug around in the overstuffed closet and finally located the source. It was a coat, an insulated, fleece-lined jacket she'd bought on an impulse the last time she'd gone shopping. She'd gotten home and tried it on. The price tag had said it was a medium, but when she checked the inner care tag, it was a small. She'd put it in the closet still in plastic, intending to take it back to the store, but had never quite gotten around to it. Now it was too late to take back, but it was the perfect size for Via. Olivia hung the jacket next to Via's worn, threadbare coat, and smiled. She had something to give the girl the next morning.


End file.
